Page 9 of Romancing His Heart

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Seth begins.

“Why did you say I wasn’t in charge anymore?” I counter.

“We’ll get to that, but we have to figure out why you were running first. What is the last thing you remember?”

Rubbing my temples, I try to focus. “Talking to you. The last thing I remember is talking to you.”

“Okay, good. Where were you? Do you remember what we were talking about? That will help us with the timeline,” Ashton says, pulling a whiteboard into the room. He must have had it in the hallway, ready to go.

I close my eyes and will the memory to come.Fuck.

“I’m not sure,” I admit. “I was sitting in a metal chair in a dingy room. The space was enormous, maybe a warehouse, and I feel like I was waiting for something, but I don’t know what.”

I open my eyes just in time to see everyone else exchange worried glances.

“What? What am I missing?”

“We’re not sure,” Seth confesses.

“I think it’s safe to assume I spoke to you right before the explosion. We were talking about Preston. I told you about his heart and Emory. Do you remember any of that?”

A flash of a memory tries to form in my head, but it’s gone before I can catch it. “She’s a surgeon, right?”

“Yes,” Sloane cheers. “Good job, Loki.”

Is she a goddamn cheerleader, too?

Apparently used to Sloane’s antics, Seth pulls up a chair next to her, trying to hide a smile. “Listen, we’ll just have to lay everything out from our perspective and hope something jogs your memory. If not, we’re going to have to start from scratch to clear your name.”

“Why would I need to clear my name?” I ask through gritted teeth.

Ash and Seth stare at each other but say nothing.

“One of you tell me why the fuck I need to clear my name!” I yell.

“Vic listed you AWOL after you missed your second check-in,” Seth admits.

“How the hell—”

“What is going on in here? Are you guys kidding me?”

Turning my head, I see an older version of Red. This must be Emory.

Chapter 3

Loki

“Oh, no. You guys are in serious trouble,” Sloane goads.

“Don’t you, for one second, think I believe you’re innocent in all this, Sloane.”

This woman means business.

“I told every single one of you that you were not to start this, this … whatever this is until after I examined him. Don’t any of you remember the lecture I gave you about traumatic brain injuries and how memory re-stabilization occurs?”

Peering around the room, I notice everyone has their head hung in shame. Whoever Emory is, she isn’t someone they want to disappoint, which sets her apart in my book.

“Emory?” I ask hesitantly. “It’s actually my fault. I heard my gatekeeper arguing with Seth in the hallway, and I ordered them both in.”